Evaluation of the Effects of Tigris River Water Quality on the Rotifers Community in Northern Baghdad by using the Canadian Water Quality Index (CCME-WQI)

Abstract

The water quality index was used for the evaluation of the quality of water, as well its impacts on the rotifer abundance, in the Tigris River as it passes through Mishahda City, northern Baghdad. Five sites were selected and samples were collected during October 2019 to September 2020. It was noticed that the index values in most sites have exceeded the upper limits of river waters. The values ranged from 40 (Poor) to 45 (Marginal) in all sites. While, the values were from 42 (Poor) to 65 (Fair) during different seasons. As for drinking usages, the results demonstrated poor or undrinkable (31-40) water in all sites. Meanwhile, the values ranged from 39 (Poor) to 56 (Clear) in regard to seasons. The index values recorded for the purpose of Conservation of Aquatic Organisms ranged from 36 (Poor) to 66 (Fair) in the all sites, and 56 (Clear) to 69 (Fair) during different seasons. Twenty five rotifer species were recorded, including 11, 2, 1, 5, 2, 1, 2, and 1 species of Brachionidae, Euchlanidae, Gastropodidae, Lecanidae, Lapadellidae, Notomanatidae, Synchoetidae, and Trichotoidae, respectively. It is concluded that the water of the Tigris on Mishahda City is considered to be highly contaminated and not suitable for human consumption without the necessary treatment. It was also noticed that the population density of the rotifers community was affected by the river water quality. However, despite the presence of environmental pressures, the rotifers continued to reproduce and conserve.

Application of the Canadian Water Quality Index (CCME-WQI) for Aquatic Life to Assess the Effect of Tharthar Water upon the Quality of the Tigris Water, Northern Baghdad City,Iraq

“…Thus, the index changed from fair in winter to marginal in summer, also discharging hightemperature water decreased DO and pH values into the river. Also, [35] explained that the values of this index fluctuated between 56 (marginal) to 69 (fair) near Al-Mishahda Town north of Baghdad related to the Anthropogenic effects. However, our findings disagree with, [36] finding that the water quality of the Tharthar-Tigris Canal lies within a poor grade.…”

Physicochemical Parameters of River Water and their Relation to Zooplankton: A Review

“…Also, Abed et al [40] found that inverse relationship between TDS concentrations and Rotifera density in Tigris River northern Baghdad City.…”

“…Usually, conductivity for fresh water less than 325 μS cm -1 , between 325-975 μS cm -1 is called marginal, brackish between 975-3.250 μS cm -1 and saline more than 3.250 μS cm -1 [33]. Abed et al [40] showed that Rotifer density in Tigris River decreased with the increasing of BOD5 levels, related that to dumping of domestic sewage directly into the river.…”

Developing a wet quality model using fuzzy approach for the Al-Gharraf River in Southern Iraq

“…Another research was conducted by Ewaid and Abed to establish a mathematical Water Quality Index to measure the water quality of the Al-Gharraf River [10]. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME-WQI) was used to evaluate the water quality of the Al-Gharraf River for aquatic life protection and irrigation [11]. Al-Abadi studied the possibility of utilizing three distinct data-driven approaches to simulate stage-discharge relationship at Gharraf River system, these approaches are multilayer perceptron with backpropagation artificial neural network (MLP), M5 decision tree model, and Takagi-Sugeno (TS) inference system [12].…”